Let's Talk About Prayer!

Hey everyone!
      So this is my third day in El Salvador, and I'm going to be honest, it's pretty overwhelming.  As soon as we arrived I was surrounded by new smells, sights, and people.  It was hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that this would be my new home.  It was nothing like the clean modern streets of America that I was used to.
     When we arrived at the Global Year House, we were surprised with new paint for our bedrooms, which was great because it made the room feel like our's.  My roommates (Brooke, Lane, Emma) and I stayed up late into the night painting, unpacking, and putting up pictures.  As I hung the pictures on my wall, each one seemed to tug at my heart.  I miss home.  I miss my family and friends. I miss being able to pour out my thoughts and feelings to those who know me best.  But that's where the Lord corrected me.
     No one knows me better than the Lord.  Psalms 139 verses 15 and 16 say, "My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." And no one loves me like the Lord.. "But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children (Psalms 103:17)."
   As the Lord reminded me of these truths, I began to pour out my thoughts and feelings to Him.  I told Him how I missed my house and the people I love.  I told Him how I can't imagine this place ever being home.  And I told Him that I just wanted to look pretty, because due to the lack of AC in the house, my hair has been resembling a stretched out cotton ball. Not cute.
    And as I laid each burden at His feet, it was like taking off a winter jacket.  I felt lighter.  I didn't feel as weighed down by my heart ache.  Do I still miss home? Yes.  Did my hair all the sudden look good? Nope.  But I knew that I had just entrusted my worries with a mighty mighty God, a God that can not be conquered.  A God that is able and wants to hold my heart.
    It astounds me that I'm even able to come before such a God.  Friend, we are not worthy of a relationship with Jesus, but He wants to know us!  He desires a relationship with us so much that He, our perfect savior, died a shameful ugly death so we could come before Him.  What love can compare?
    I don't know about you, but I will not forsake the opportunity to come before the King of this universe, the King that loves you and I, and pour my heart out to Him.  He wants us to.  Jesus says in Mathew 11:28 "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  So I will come to the foot of the cross and trust that He will pour His peace over me.  I pray that you, reader, will do the same.  There is nothing too heavy, complicated, or shameful for our God.

And so it begins...

    Okay, so if you are reading this I want to start by thanking you for following along with me on my journey.  But secondly, please know that most of my other posts will be much more structured than this.  At this moment, I am sitting in the Atlanta Airport, and I will board my flight to El Salvador in approximately 30 minutes.  Once I'm there, I won't have wifi again until Saturday morning, so I just wanted to update everyone real quick.  So please excuse any grammatical errors or just plain old choppy writing.
     My adventure officially began on Tuesday morning, when I met my whole team in person for the first time.  After that, we went to a church camp owned by one of the team member's family.  The last couple of days have been spent doing team building exercises, worshipping together, and just getting to know the people I will be spending the next nine months with.  It's crazy to think that people who were just recently strangers will become like family very very soon.
    But anyways, last night I was sitting on the front porch of our cabin and just felt overwhelmed by the fact that it would be my last night in the States.  At that moment, anxiety began to creep in. I began to think about how I'm going to be a foreigner.  The people around me won't speak my language.  I'm going to live without AC and warm water.  And I'm leaving the people that I have loved my entire life and a place that has always been home.  As each of these thoughts crossed my mind, anxiety flooded into my heart.  Right before I went into a full-fledged panic attack, I felt the Lord calling me into His Word.  So I went to where I had left off that morning: Mathew 19.  And the Lord filled me with a peace that only He can bring.
     I read about the rich young ruler and how he could not meet the requirement to follow Jesus.  You see, Jesus requires it all, and so often, we feel that we just have too much to lose.  We couldn't possibly walk away from everything that we have or know.  Even the disciples were intimidated by this requirement.  But Jesus leaves his followers with a promise.  Jesus whispered truth to me last night.  He says, "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life." (Mathew 19:29)
    I know Jesus has called me to this, and I know I'm giving up a lot.  But I know He is so much better!  I know He is sufficient for me!  And I know that He loves and cares for me more than anyone else, and that He has the best plan for my life!